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Klipfolio Inc has been invited to participate in the iOpener 2011 conference, focusing on mobility and the cloud. Klipfolio will be represented at the Chicago conference by CEO Allan Wille and CTO James Scott. Wille and Scott are honoured to be invited to attend this special event and plan on showcasing the companies new web and mobile KPI dashboard. Klipfolio Dashboard is a real-time dashboard that is being delivered as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution to enable browser and mobile access to key performance indicator (KPI) dashboards.

Klipfolio Dashboard provides access to dashboards on any mobile device including the iPhone and iPad, Android, and BlackBerry smart phones and tablets. Klipfolio is excited to share its experience and success regarding mobile business intelligence (mobile BI) with the other attendees of the conference.

“The popularity of smart phones and tablets is placing greater demand on business intelligence that is accessible anywhere. By leveraging the cloud, we have begun to deliver on that promise,” CEO and President Allan Wille says. “Moving forward, today’s enterprise needs to make sure that the information delivered on mobile devices is meaningful and actionable.”

Providing customized deals for parents and caregivers, KidZoomer offers exclusive deals on camps, after-school activities, learning resources and educational products. New to the market this year, KidZoomer is one of the leaders in a growing trend to offer promotions geared towards a specific audience.

Toronto teacher Samara Schnurbach and mom of three Melissa Grossman work together to run all aspects of KidZoomer – from securing vendors and promotions, to managing the website, to ensuring each subscriber is entirely satisfied with their purchase. As a teacher, Samara understands the many resources busy parents need when children are in school, and that the expenses add up quickly.

“I realized there was a gap in the market for providing promotions that were specifically targeting parents with young children,” says Samara. “KidZoomer is the solution – we aim to bring quality, relevant promotions to families so they can try trusted products and services at a discounted price.”

“Right now KidZoomer is focused on the Greater Toronto Area, although some of our deals are web-based and available nationally. In the future we hope to expand our website with deals unique to cities across Canada,” explains Melissa. “We always ensure that before offering any promotion, we would purchase it for our own families – quality is our first priority.”

This back-to-school season, KidZoomer will be offering a variety of deals, including:

• Reading programs to help children transition from summer to school
• Themed birthday parties that make throwing a celebration simple
• First Aid classes for caregivers
• Art Programs for children looking to explore their creative side
• Play camps for young children who may not be in school full-time

Unlike other deal websites, KidZoomer does not spam users with daily emails; promotions from KidZoomer come two to three times a week, and all promotions are customized from vendors with exclusive offers that cater to families with young children. Many subscribers are repeat customers, checking back regularly for new deals that fit the needs of their families.

IT service management firm Consulting-Portal has announced the launch of ITOptimizer Version 2.0, a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution designed to help organizations achieve efficiencies by improving their Information Technology and Business processes.

“ITOptimizer 2.0 represents a major enhancement to the product and we are excited to provide this capability to our clients,” says David Mainville CEO and Co-founder of Consulting-Portal.

ITOptimizer Version 2.0 is the 5th release of our Business Process Management (BPM) software and is used by many Fortune 500 companies, along with numerous small to medium businesses, across North America and abroad.

“IT Optimizer is a great tool which has helped Telx assess, design and simplify our end-to-end revenue process. We are looking forward to the capabilities of version 2.0,” says Eric Shepcaro, CEO of TELX, provider of interconnection, colocation and business exchange services in strategic, high demand North American markets.

The software provides the following capabilities:

— Process Assessment: Configure and administer questionnaires designed to measure the maturity of your ITSM and Business processes with provisioned templates based on the COBIT and ITIL standards or you can build your own. Data is securely gathered over the Internet and stored centrally for reporting.

— Process Design: Define and document your ITSM and Business Processes using an easy to use interface and a library of ready to use templates based on the ITIL standard. Easily capture all the elements of the process in a central repository then automatically create process documentation.

— Process Governance: Define specific control objectives for your processes then measure compliance through the assignment of tasks and the collection of evidence. We supply ready to use COBIT and ITIL templates or you can build your own governance model to support SOX, ISO20000 and more.

— Process Education: All subscribers to ITOptimizer have access to free instructor-led classes on ITIL V3 Foundations, Process Assessment, Process Design and Process Governance.

As a SaaS application there is nothing to install in your environment. Advanced security protocols ensure your data is safe. Setup is easy and we help you be productive within hours. We also have a comprehensive suite of consulting services to compliment your in-house capabilities.

QuickMobile, a supplier of mobile solutions for the meetings and events industry has closed a $2.3 million round of funding. The investment, a combination of debt and equity from angel investors, will be used to support new product development, innovation and to expand QuickMobile’s customer base internationally.  QuickMobile is on pace in 2011 to record a 500 percent increase in bookings compared to 2010.

Can Stock Photo’s independent library of images has surpassed the 5 million mark, reaffirming the company as one of the world’s biggest independent stock photography collections. The microstock photography company has seen strong library growth in the past year, largely attributed to significantly increasing contributor earnings and a file submission process that is widely regarded as one of the fastest and most efficient in the industry. This has enabled the company to add over 2 million new images in just the past year.

The prestige of having over 5 million independent images in Can Stock Photo’s library is something that few stock photography companies in the world can match. While many competing agencies share and distribute their images to one another to increase their advertised image count, Can Stock Photo’s library is independent of such sharing & licensing agreements.

“Every single image on our site was submitted directly to us, inspected by our staff, and is maintained by us. We don’t license outside images. Our approach is increasingly rare among our competitors, and provides us with the significant advantage of being able to provide more accountability to our customers. Our clients know exactly where our images came from, and know that they all meet our high independent standards.” – Duncan Enman, general manager

The news of reaching the 5 million image mark comes on the heels of another major announcement by the company last month, who launched a new version of its website, complete with a high-tech search engine that is billed as one of the fastest in the industry. By combining their new design, search engine, and growing library, Can Stock Photo aims to provide one of the biggest independent stock photography collections with one of the quickest stock photo search engines.

Telecommunications operator AstraQom, a company which specializes in hosted pbx, home phone, co-location, and fax to email, announces a move to new headquarters in Ottawa. The new office is located fifteen minutes from downtown Ottawa and twenty minutes from the Ottawa Airport.

The facility, with plenty of spacious room, will provide generous capacity for AstraQom’s marketing, accounts, product management, human resources, sales, research, development and engineering departments. The new facility enables AstraQom to effective combine its existing Canadian sites in one “campus.: This will improve communication, lower cost, and increase efficiency. It will assist the company to collaborate with its satellite groups in other nations such as USA, Mexico, Philippines, United Kingdom, and Colombia.

“The new headquarters will provide a convenient location for business visitors as an AstraQom conference area for our current and potential clients, colleagues and partners. I am excited to be a part of moving our resources of people to a place they can be proud of and moving our products showcase to this impressive and convenient facility. Ottawa is the best place for technology companies,” states Jonathan Sowah. “Our new place will enable us to meet the growing demand for AstraQom to be accessible to our global visitors easily from the airport and will assist us to speed up the new AstraQom development projects lineup.”

Effective August 22, Shaw Direct customers will have access to more local channels in markets across the country, including additional Global, CTV and CityTV channels along with French language offerings like TVA, SRC, Métro, Teletoon Retro French and TFO. TFO will be available to customers beginning August 29.

The latest additions follow the release of the Shaw Direct Essential HD receiver, Canada’s most compact and affordable satellite receiver. Customers can access the new channels launched in their provinces through Shaw Direct’s basic packages.

“Delivering the most advanced technology to our customers is just one of the reasons Shaw Direct has the highest customer satisfaction rating of all satellite TV providers,” said Peter Bissonnette, President, Shaw Communications Inc. “Our latest programming additions continue to bring customers the best in local, Canadian content they have come to expect.”

The following channels will launch as part of Shaw Direct’s latest offerings:

• Global: Regina, Okanagan, Maritimes (Saint John)
• CTV: Kitchener, Saskatoon
• CityTV Winnipeg
• TVA Abitibi
• CBC Charlottetown
• SRC: Trois Rivieres, Regina
• Métro 14
• Teletoon Retro French
• TFO

Customers can enjoy the new programming on Shaw Direct’s receivers, including Advanced HDPVR, the Advanced HD Receiver, and the Essential HD Receiver. Shaw Direct’s receivers are HD and 3D compatible and ready for future technology advancements.

Arius3D Corp. and Masterfile Corporationare pleased to announce that Arius3D has entered into an agreement with the shareholders of Masterfile to purchase, on certain conditions, all of the issued and outstanding securities of Masterfile for a purchase price equal to CDN$21,379,580.

Masterfile, headquartered in Toronto, is one of the world’s largest providers of premium still images in terms of revenues. Masterfile was created within a subsidiary of the Toronto Sun in 1981 and managed by Steve Pigeon until it was sold by the Toronto Sun to Mr. Pigeon and a consortium of employees and contributing photographers in 1984. Since its founding, Masterfile’s growth has been primarily organic, and today it has approximately 100 employees worldwide.

Set out below is selected financial information from Masterfile’s audited financial statements for each of the fiscal years ended February 28, 2009 and 2010:

A decline of approximately $5.2 million in revenue between fiscal years 2010 and 2009 was consistent with overall industry results and is largely attributable to the impact of the world financial crisis. Net income improved by approximately $1.3 million over that same time period despite the revenue decline. Masterfile is only now in a position to benefit from a more normalized business environment, although there continues to be pressure on operating results.

Under the terms of the Share Purchase Agreement, Masterfile has agreed to provide the Company with its audited financial statements for fiscal 2011 prior to closing. With the acquisition of Masterfile, it is believed that the Company will be the only image distributor in the world offering traditional 2D images together with high resolution 3D images produced using Arius3D’s world renowned technologies.

John Wood, the CEO of Arius3D stated “I believe there is a significant opportunity in the 3D market and Masterfile is a great platform to enable Arius3D to take a leadership position in this market. Masterfile is a leading player in the 2D stock photo industry and has profited from the industry’s spectacular growth through more than two decades. Demand for 2D stock photo content is continuing to grow, however, crowd-sourced supply is impacting the business. As a result, combining the unique content of Arius3D with Masterfile has significant potential. Masterfile’s completely redesigned website released in July 2011 is the perfect platform to showcase 3D content on the internet. Users of the new class of consumer computing devices are demanding rich and interactive content, but 2D photographs are not interactive. 3D content provides the solution and we believe the potential growth in demand for 3D content could replicate or exceed that of 2D stock photo content.”

“Since 1999, Arius3D has developed proprietary, patented 3D technologies, capable of producing extraordinarily rich and interactive 3D image content. That content provides the users of the new class of computing devices with a dramatically enhanced experience. The acquisition of Masterfile should enable Arius3D to commercialize its proprietary capabilities profitably and more quickly, with the objective of making the combined company a leader in the 3D segment of our industry.”

Masterfile President, Steve Pigeon adds: “We believe the combination of Arius3D’s unique technology with Masterfile’s skill and experience in acquiring, marketing and licensing creative content globally provides a wonderful opportunity to build a powerful new enterprise that will benefit our clientele, contributing artists and other stakeholders around the world. This promises to be an exciting, challenging and hopefully rewarding adventure for all of us.” Read the rest of this entry »

Pizza operator Pizza 73 has launched its iPhone application to make ordering pizza both convenient and fast. The launch is the first of its kind from a Western Canadian-based pizza chain. Developed by Break Point Creative, the new app can be downloaded from the App Store for all iPhone®, iPod touch® and iPad™ devices.

This innovative application will fundamentally change the ordering experience, making it fast and convenient, all at the swipe of a finger. Users have access to the menu, specials, and to completely customize their pizzas and other menu choices. By using location-based services (LBS), it can map out the nearest Pizza 73 location. Registered users also receive added convenience with saved profile information and can choose their last order with just one tap.

Pizza 73 was one of the first in the industry to launch online ordering over ten years ago and has a strong online customer base, due to its user-friendly system and promotional activity, such as the current “Spin to Win” game when you order online. They are now first to market with the iPhone ordering app.

“We are committed to mobile as a part of our overall strategy to provide a fast and convenient ordering experience for our customers. As the leading pizza chain in Western Canada, we strive to be at the forefront of technology to set new standards within the pizza industry. Being a trend-setter is key to winning over new customers and providing another service to our existing customers.” said Pat Finelli, Chief Marketing Officer of Pizza Pizza / Pizza 73.

Vancouver studio Karacters’ Design Group, the integrated branding and design division of DDB Canada, has appointed Chris Dallin as director of branding and design. Prior to joining Karacters, Dallin led brand strategy at Red Rocket Creative Strategies.

“Chris is a seasoned pro with extensive experience in executing impressive brand design programs across a wide range of business sectors including telecom, tourism and retail,” says Lance Saunders, EVP managing director, DDB Canada, Vancouver.  “Chris has been responsible for an impressive body of work and is highly respected in the industry.  We are thrilled to have someone of Chris’ stature lead the Karacters team.” 

With 20 years’ experience, Dallin brings his strategic planning expertise, creative thinking and branding insight to the agency.  Working closely with Karacters’ creative director James Bateman, Dallin will help Karacters to further deepen its presence regionally, nationally and internationally as well as help develop creative brand solutions for clients, including brand identity, creative platforms, packaging and environmental design.

“Not only do I ascribe to DDB’s belief that creativity is the most powerful force in business, but I’ve been a long-time fan of Karacters’ world-class work,” says Dallin.  “The opportunity to lead the team at Karacters was an opportunity that I could not pass up.”